OP...this comes up often when some one with a '00 to '06 1500HD asks about pulling a 5th wheel trailer or carrying a truck camper.
Some think the 1500 HD is a std duty 1500 truck which it ain't.

This is a paste and copy from a Silverado/Sierra forum for a bit of input on what your truck is...................

***The 1500HD was the old 2500 (non HD) replacment. At one time GM offered a 8600 lb 3/4 ton and a 9000 lb 1 ton single rear wheel truck. They came out with the 2500HD at 9200 lb and a 2500 at 8600 lb. The changed the 2500 to a 1500HD (I think it was so they could claim the highest towing capacity in the 1/2 ton market). When they brought out the 2500HD they dropped the 9000 lb 3500 single rear wheel truck.

The 1500HD was only available with a 6.0L but you could get 3.73 or 4.10 rears (the 2500HD was only offered with 4.10 ratio unless you got the 8.1 or the 6.6). The 2500HD was offered with the 6.0, the 8.1 or the 6.6 engines.

The 1500HD has a 4500 lb front axle and 4500 lb front suspension vrs the 4800 front axle and 4500 front suspension in the 2500HD.

The 1500HD has a 6000 lb rear axle and rear suspension vrs the 6900 rear axle and 6084 rear suspension on the 2500HD.

The 1500HD was only offered in a crew cab with a 6.5' box vrs a full line offering for the 2500HD.

The max payload of the 1500HD was 3129 lbs. vrs 3606 for a comparable 2500HD.

This info was found in the 2006 Chevrolet Truck Order Guide***

As some others have said GM gives these trucks a 6000 rawr. The truck rear axle may weigh in the 2700 lb range leaving approx 3000 lb in the bed payload. The truck sure won;t have any issues carrying a 3k load or stoping or moving it down the road.
You have a very popular truck with those that like and use them. Weigh the trucks front and rear axles that way you know how much real world payload you have to work with.

"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers

Quote:In 2001 I purchased a 2001 Silverado 1500 HD Crew Cab 4x4 for the specific purpose of adding a slide-in truck camper. I was soon discouraged when all the camper dealers told me that my “1/2 ton” truck was not capable of carrying any of their units available in 2001.

That just shows the "lack of" knowledge of the camper dealers..Silicone gets the same bad rap on the internet as 1/2 ton trucks do, yet Bigfoot uses silicone on there campers as well as countless RV dealers for repair..

GM gives your HD 1500 a 6K rear axle rating, which is definitely more from the manufacturer of the axle as my Sterling(Ford) axle is...My F-350 DRW with a Lance 9.6 TC loaded ready to camp, weighs 6K even on the rear axle when I last weighed, out of curiosity..

Your not going to have any problems with a TC on your HD 1500 truck,within reason..Guys around here think an AF-811 is just fine on a 3/4 ton truck when it actually overloads a newer 3500 DRW in GVWR..Double standard..YES...

Your truck is a rare find, so enjoy it and don't listen to the nay sayers about 1/2 ton trucks,they are wrong about most of them but especially wrong about the HD version truck campers and towing with it

Jimlin, you're absolutely correct.
And this thread is actually good info for the folks who believe the 6klb rawr of HD 3/4 tons.
Here with the little semi floater axle we have a 6klb allowable "rated" rawr. I believe that is at the upper limits for that axle, but sufficient enough. Now how can 10.5" or 11.25" full floater axles only be good for 6klbs?

I was trying to take the OP's context and understanding into the equation in my recommendation to upsize. A Cirrus 720 lists a 1825lb
"base" dry weight. Unless Cirrus is different than other mfgs, the smoke show is that the 1825lbs is literally the most base optioned camper avaialble. Heck you may not even be able to purchase one without some mandatory "options" that increase the dry weight. Now assuming you get the, whatever, dual batteries, AC, etc, dry weight is over 2klbs. Add in a couple hunderd lbs of water, couple hundred lbs of "furnishings", couple hundred lbs of consumables and couple hundred lbs of clothing etc and a hundred lbs of recreational gear/tools/etc. You now have a camper that's around 3lkbs just as expected.
Without splitting hairs, if you run "light" on everything, you're still somewhere between 2500 and 3klbs. Doable with the 1500HD, with some decent load range E tires, extra springs or timbren type thingamabobs or airbags and a good sway bar in back.

"Yes Sir, Oct 10 1888, Those poor school children froze to death in their tracks. They did not even find them until Spring. Especially hard hit were the ones who had to trek uphill to school both ways, with no shoes." -Bert A.

In all my years of hauling truck campers and tons and tons of firewood/logging equipment etc,I have never seen a broken axle on a pickup from weight..Not saying it can't happen,just saying I have never seen it or heard about it, on a properly serviced axle..

These guys at the 4X4 pirate forum are the axle gurus of the internet and I enjoy reading there post on axle strengths...

Here is one copy and paste about the GM 1500 HD vs the 2500 HD,and it's funny..

ENGGGGGGGHHHHHH! Wrong answers. The primary difference between the 1500HD & the 2500HD IS the rear axle, that & the frame. 6.0 2500HD's come with a 10.5" FF 14-bolt rear. 1500HD's & auto-tranny 2500's come with 9.5" SF rear. Manual tranny 2500's get the 10.5" FF (manual tranny is not available in the 1500HD). All of the above get the 4L80E & a 9.25" IFS front. I went for the 2500HD primarily to get the FF rear. But, you'll notice that the 2500HD has larger exhaust than the 1500HD/2500. Most literature will show both trucks to have the same power rating, but the stuff I saw at my GMC dealer showed the 2500HD at 325HP vs. 300HP for the 1500HD/2500. Seat of the pants, I thought the 2500HD ran better, but not appreciably so. Internally, I'm quite certain the engines are identical, I just think the exhaust flows better on the 2500HD (none of which matters once you change the pipe anyway).

For reference, the 2500HD is essentially a SRW 3500. At 9,200 GVWR, it has the same weight rating as the previous generation SRW 3500. The 2500 & 1500HD are both 8,600 GVWR, the same as the previous gen 2500"hd".

Also, 8.1 & Duramax trucks don't share a rear axle with either of these machines. Both come with an all-new 11.5" FF rear. This 11.5" rear may or may not be used in 6.0 powered dually's. That's the only model of which I'm not sure.

And FWIW, I think my 2002 GMC 2500HD with the 6.0 is an excellent choice for hauling a single rig, a 1500HD would be **** near as good. 4.10's are ideal for towing with the stock-size rubber too. I only wish 4.56's would have been available since I'm planning to go to 255/85 R16 tires eventually.

WOW, thanks to everyone for all the great information. I'm impressed with all the knowledge you guys have shared. I'm going to visit a CAT scale and then decide between the Cirrus 720 or a Capri Retreat. I need to do some research on the Capri, not sure about the wood frame construction. Thanks again to everyone.

Good for you! Go getcha a camper!
Fwiw, I’d take a Cirrus tomorrow. Seems to be very well thought out campers.
Don’t let wood frame scare you. We’ve had 2 different campers, same exact model. 1 aluminum, 1 wood. Zero differences in them from my perspective.